64 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
64 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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id:
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aliases: []
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tags:
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- authorship/original
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- destiny/permanent
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- original-format/typewritten-print
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- status/complete
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- type/daily
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title: 2025-11-11
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---
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# 2025-11-11
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## 2025-11-11 06:06 --- Tuesday Morning, Before Work
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#topic/estimating
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One of the most appealing aspects of estimating
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to me is the dynamic we have with our employers.
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my experience was at Ace that estimators act like,
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and are treated like good artists, like loveable
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little-scamps who always get into trouble, but
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you keep them around because they do good work.
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There was no other position with a similar reputation.
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I attribute this strange relationship to two
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facts of our role:
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1. Estimating provides executives with a service,
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one that they could almost do without, but that they
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understand the value of paying for.
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2. Estimating is just math-heavy enough that it
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seems like magic to the uninitiated.
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In these ways we're actually more like court
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wizards than artists, which is an understandably
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desirable position.
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## 2025-11-11 14:41
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#topic/estimating #topic/transparency
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I just saw a post on a construction estimators forum
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from a user lamenting that their coworkers and customers
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largely do not understand the difference between markup and margin.
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It made me remember the micro-debates about that I would have with Dale
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every time we were closing out an estimate.
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This is the example I would always give
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while trying to explain it to him.
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![[markup-vs-margin]]
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***
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The user also stated that they would prefer to list overhead and profit
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separately from scope line item costs,
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but that their customers push back when they try.
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I'm not sure where they got this preference.
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Sure that would be more "transparent",
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but it's at odds with the purpose of a breakdown.
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